
Hodder pre-empt Owain Mulligan's savagely funny memoir THE ACCIDENTAL SOLDIER.
Hodder Non-Fiction Publisher Rupert Lancaster pre-empted The Accidental Soldier: Dispatches from (Quite Near) the Front Line from Charlie Campbell at Greyhound Literary. Hodder acquired British Commonwealth rights, including serial and audio, and will publish in hardback, ebook and audio on 10 April 2025.
'Described by Matt Haig as "a non-fiction Catch-22" and by Richard Curtis as "an instant classic", The Accidental Soldier is based on the diary Owain Mulligan kept during his seven-month tour of duty with the British Army in Iraq.'
The acquisition statement continues: 'In 2006, Mulligan was teaching at a London school and hating every moment of it. At the weekends he trained with the Territorial Army and dreamt of a different life. Then he was called up to serve as a troop leader in a cavalry regiment in Basra, with twelve professional soldiers under his command, but as he says "at least we were allowed to wear helmets in Iraq".
'Searingly honest and darkly humorous, The Accidental Soldier recounts what happened next – and what army life is really like.
'A screen option has already been agreed and The Accidental Soldier has already received endorsements from Richard Curtis, Matt Haig, Marina Hyde ("absolutely incredible"), Richard E. Grant ("authentic and compulsive") and John Oliver ("relentlessly funny").'
Mulligan said: "When you join the Army, you assume that if they send you to war it’s all going to be very gritty and action packed, like The Hurt Locker, or Band of Brothers or something. Then you go, and you realise that it’s actually more like being in a very long running sitcom, albeit one with some devastatingly unfunny moments. Like Mrs Brown’s Boys. I wanted to write a book which showed that, and which told the story of 'the blokes'; ordinary young men, who did extraordinary things."
Lancaster said: "I only had to read a few pages to know I had to publish The Accidental Soldier. This is a very special book from a naturally gifted writer."
The author is donating 100% of royalty earnings from sales of the book, estimated at at least £20,000, to the charity War Child, 'to help protect, educate and stand up for the rights of children living through conflict.'